If you are seeing a large increase in your maintenance and repair costs for your company vehicles, having a hard time attracting new drivers and are turning down business, it’s time to update your existing equipment or add vehicles to your fleet. When you replace or add vehicles, you face the lease versus buy decision. Choosing to lease, frees up working capital that you can use in other areas of your business.

I know that we have seen some return to normal life since the pandemic.  COVID-19 however, continues to play a part in the national work truck and vehicle shortage we are seeing.  Many manufacturing plants were and are shut down to deal with the pandemic, but that did not slow the consumer demand for electronic products.  Many people had to adapt to remote working which increased demand for technology like laptops and monitors.  This forced semiconductor manufacturers to shift their focus from vehicles to computers to keep up with the current market’s needs.

Newer trucks and vehicles require semiconductors to power onboard computers and LED dashboard displays and safety systems.  The auto manufacturers tried to regain full-scale production, but they hit a snag when they realized semiconductors simply were not available.  That left a ton of new trucks and vehicles sitting in parking lots waiting for semiconductors.  The chipmakers are stressed!  The high demand was then met with headwinds of natural disasters like fires or cold weather that forced plant closures, putting the already supply even further behind.

What does all this mean?  It means the supply of trucks and vehicles has dwindled and prices are up.  Everyone is trying to buy right now.  Many auto manufacturers have stopped taking orders of 2022 models.  Fewer trades occur when sales of new vehicles drop.  In the meantime, it is hard to get new or used trucks and vehicles.  If you tried to get around the expense of a new work truck, you looked down the used route.  Supply shortages have increased used work prices by as much as 25%.  Many ½-ton work trucks have seen price increases of $8,000 to $9,000.  The 2022 models have been delayed due to the chip shortage and the manufacturers trying to keep their costs down from making work trucks that they cannot sell because of the chip shortage.

When will this shortage end?  Earlier this year, the experts thought it would be a quick summer issue with things getting back to normal by the end of August.  More recently, however, they say it could be upwards of a year until the shortage is over.  The shortage has cost the manufactures billions.  Some manufacturers stockpiled semiconductors, kind of like the recent toilet paper shortage.  Demand is like a bullwhip.  A small flick of the wrist can lead to a big crack at the other end.  Demand falls and rises like a combination of low demand for new trucks and higher demand for laptops and game consoles for lockdown entertainment.  New trucks and cars can contain hundreds of chips.  The manufacturers that hoarded chips made the problem worse.

Containers were left in wrong locations as trade shifted, shipping capacity was reduced and ships could not land where they intended.  Coupled with congested ports and problems with timely unloading and onward transportation, the typical container spends 20% longer in transit.  Rates are also up 80%.  Even a 10% increase in container freight can reduce industrial production by 1%. 

Hang in there and see us to order your work trucks and business vehicles.  While the vehicles are delayed, we want to be at the top of the list when production levels return to pre-pandemic levels.  Check in with us to stay on top of shortage.  We can help!

The Fisher Leasing Team

701-282-2324     www.fffisher.com

1.  Cash flow management

The challenge: Cash flow is essential to small business survival, yet many entrepreneurs struggle to pay the bills (let alone themselves) while they’re waiting for checks to arrive. Part of the problem stems from delayed invoicing, which is common in the entrepreneurial world. You perform a job, send an invoice, then get paid (hopefully) 30 days later. In the meantime, you have to pay everything from your employees or contractors to your mortgage to your grocery bill. Waiting to get paid can make it difficult to get by — and when a customer doesn’t pay, you can risk everything.

The solution:  Proper budgeting and planning are critical to maintaining cash flow, but even these won’t always save you from stressing over bills. One way to improve cash flow is to require a down payment for your products and services. Your down payment should cover all expenses associated with a given project or sale as well as some profit for you. By requiring a down payment, you can at least rest assured you won’t be left paying others’ bills; by padding the down payment with some profit, you can pay your own.

Another strategy for improving cash flow is to require faster invoice payments. Invoice clients within 15 days, which is half the typical invoice period. This means if a customer is late with a payment, you have two weeks to address it and get paid before the next month’s bills are due. In addition, more and more companies are requiring immediate payment upon project completion — and in our digital age when customers can pay invoices right from their mobile phones, it’s not a stretch to request immediate payment.

You can also address cash flow management from the other side of the equation by asking your own vendors to invoice you at 45, 60 or even 90 days to allow ample time for your payments to arrive and checks to clear. If you can establish a good relationship with vendors and are a good customer, they’ll be willing to work with you once you explain your strategy.

And if you’re looking for an easier way to pay bills and save money, consider sending checks via email.

2.  Hiring employees

The challenge: Do you know who dreads job interviews the most? It’s not prospective candidates — it’s entrepreneurs. The hiring process can take several days of your time: reviewing resumes, sitting through interviews, sifting through so many unqualified candidates to find the diamonds in the rough. Then, you only hope you can offer an attractive package to get the best people on board and retain them.

The solution:  Be exclusive. Far too many help wanted ads are incredibly vague in terms of what qualifications candidates must have, what the job duties are, what days and hours will be worked, and what wages and benefits will be paid. You can save yourself a ton of time by pre-qualifying candidates through exclusive help wanted ads that are ultra-specific in what it takes to be hired at your firm, as well as what the day-to-day work entails. Approach your employee hunt the same way you would approach a customer-centric marketing campaign: through excellent targeting.

Once you have a pool of prospects, arrange for a “walking interview” in which you take candidates on a tour of their working environments. Ask questions relevant to the job and to candidates’ experiences, expectations, dedication, and long-term goals. Don’t act like an overlord determining which minion gets to live another day; rather, behave as though you’re seeking a partner to help you operate and grow your business.

Take the time to seek real references: not the neighbor lady your candidates grew up with, but people who can honestly attest to their work ethic and potential. Once you’ve picked a candidate and before you’ve made a job offer, ask them specifically what it will take to keep them employed with you for the long haul. Tell them to be honest with their expectations. Provided they do a good job for you, you’ll know what kind of rewards they’re seeking, and you can make adjustments accordingly: Do they want more vacation? The opportunity for advancement? More pay? Freedom from micromanagement?

This isn’t to say you have to bend backwards for your employees; however, it stands to reason that if you make expectations clear for both parties you can lay the foundation for a long-term, mutually-rewarding client-boss relationship.

3.  Time management

The challenge: Time management might be the biggest problem faced by entrepreneurs, who wear many (and all) hats. If you only had more time, you could accomplish so much more!

The solution: Make time. Like money, it doesn’t grow on trees, of course, so you have to be smart about how you’re spending it. Here’s how:

• Create goal lists: You should have a list of lifetime goals, broken down into annual goals, broken down into monthly goals, then broken down into weekly goals. Your weekly goals, then will be broken down into specific tasks by day. In this manner, what is on your task list in any given day is all you need to do to stay on track with your lifetime goals

• If any tasks do not mesh with your goals, eliminate them

• If any tasks do not absolutely have to be completed by you, delegate them

• Consistently ask yourself: “Is what I’m doing right now the absolute best use of my time?”

4.  Delegating tasks

The challenge: You know you need to delegate or outsource tasks, but it seems every time you do something gets messed up and you have to redo it anyway.

The solution:  Find good employees (see above) and good outsourced contract help, for starters. You might have to pay a little more for it, but the savings in time (and the resulting earning potential) more than make up for it.

Next, be ultra-specific as to what you want done. It will take a little more time at first, but write down detailed steps listing exactly what you want your help to do. Don’t make assumptions, and don’t assume your help will be able to think for themselves (they can, but they will complete the job verbatim because that’s what they’re trained to do). So, don’t say “list stats in a spreadsheet” when you can say “alphabetically list XYZ in the right spreadsheet column, then list statistic A in the next column.” It might seem like overkill, but take the time to be specific once, and your help will get it right every time thereafter.

5.  Choosing what to sell

The challenge: You know you could make a mint if you just knew what products and services to sell. You’re just unsure how to pick a niche.

The solution: Admit that you’re weak in identifying prosperous niches, and delegate the task to someone who is strong in this area. You don’t have to hire a huge, expensive marketing firm; rather, recruit a freelance researcher who has experience in whatever type of field you’re considering entering (retail e-commerce, service industry, publishing, etc.). Have them conduct market research and create a report with suggested niches, backed by potential profit margins and a complete SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

This isn’t to say you should have someone else decide for you; however, if you’re not good at identifying niches it’s a good idea to have someone who is make suggestions. You can then analyze the suggestions for yourself to determine if you agree. Taking this step now can save you a lot of time, money and hassles later — and it can save your entire business and livelihood.

6.  Marketing strategy

The challenge:  You don’t know the best way to market your products and services: print, online, mobile, advertising, etc. You want to maximize your return on investment with efficient, targeted marketing that gets results.

The solution: Again, if you’re not adept at creating marketing plans and placing ads, it’s a good idea to outsource your marketing strategy to someone who is. At this point, all you need is a core marketing plan: what marketing activities will you undertake to motivate purchases? Give your planner a budget and tell them to craft a plan that efficiently uses that budget to produce profits.

This is not the time for experimentation. You can do that later, on your own or with the advice of your marketing strategist, after you’ve established a baseline that works.

7.  Capital

The challenge: You want to start or grow your business, but you have little capital to do it with.

The solution: There are many ways to earn funding, from traditional bank loans to family and friends to Kickstarter campaigns. You can choose these routes, certainly, but I prefer the self-fueled growth model in which you fund your own business endeavors.

Instead of trying to launch a multi-million dollar corporation overnight, focus on your initial core customers. Continually work to find new customers, of course, but consistently strive to be remarkable to those customers you already serve. Word-of-mouth will spread, and more customers will come looking for you. As they do, develop systems and business processes that allow you to delegate tasks without sacrificing quality. Your business will grow slow and steady, and you’ll be able to solve problems while they’re small.

Think about where you want to be five years from now. Can you get there without help, even if you have to delay growth a bit while you’re doing it? This is the best strategy to adopt for small business entrepreneurs. If you do feel you need funding, however, be sure to consult an attorney to make sure you’re not giving up too much of your business to get it.

8.  Strapped budget

The challenge: Even though cash flow is fine, it seems you never have enough in your budget to market your company to its full potential.

The solution: Unless you’re one of the Fortune 500 (and even if you are), every entrepreneur struggles with their budget. The key is to prioritize your marketing efforts with efficiency in mind — spend your money where it works — and reserve the rest for operating expenses and experimenting with other marketing methods.

Keep a close eye on your money, too: chances are, there are areas you can skim to free up more funds. Unless an expense is absolutely critical to your business and/or represents an investment with an expected return, cut it. In fact, do this exercise: See how lean you can run your business. You don’t have to actually do it, but cut everything you can and see if you still feel you can run your business (save for what you have to delegate and market with). Somewhere in between your leanest figure and your current budget is a sweet spot that will allow you to be just as effective and leave funds leftover to fuel growth.

9.  Business growth

The challenge: We’re assuming you are growing, not that you can’t grow, and you’ve come to the point at which you can’t take on any more work in your current structure.

The solution: Create new processes that focus on task delegation. Many entrepreneurs, used to wearing all the hats, find themselves in this position once they’ve achieved a modicum of success. Because you’re doing everything, your growth halts to a stop when it hits a self-imposed ceiling. The only way to break through is to delegate tasks to others to take yourself out of the production end, and segue into management and, finally, pure ownership.

10. Self-doubt

The challenge: An entrepreneur’s life is not enviable, at least in the beginning. It’s extremely easy to get discouraged when something goes wrong or when you’re not growing as fast as you’d like. Self-doubt creeps in, and you feel like giving up.

The solution: Being able to overcome self-doubt is a necessary trait for entrepreneurs. Having a good support system will help: family and friends who know your goals and support your plight, as well as an advisory board of other entrepreneurs who can objectively opine as to the direction of your business.

One of the best ways to deal with self-doubt is to work on your goals and tasks lists. When you’re down and lack motivation, look at your lists and know that the tasks you do today are contributing to your lifetime goals. By doing them, you’re one step closer, and you can rest assured that you are, indeed, on the path to business success.

Entrepreneurs face many challenges, and volumes have been written about how to overcome them. Perseverance and intelligence are your allies; use them to your advantage to keep working toward your goals. Understand that you’re not the first to struggle. Because of that, there are many resources available to help you get through your darkest days as an entrepreneur, so you can reap the immeasurable rewards that come with building your own successful business.

Other than your home, your car might be the most expensive purchase that you ever make. I love nice cars, but I also try to manage my finances responsibly. As a result, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that a new car is an unnecessary expense.

Sure, you can find overpriced used cars and bargain buys on brand-new vehicles, but it’s not just the sticker price that makes a new car a waste. The associated fees, subsequent costs, and losses in value (i.e. depreciation) add up to thousands of dollars over the first few years of new car ownership. This is especially bad news if you end up upside down on your car loan.

On the other hand, a “slightly-used” car – one that’s only around two years old and has under 30,000 miles on it – can help you keep cash in your pocket without sacrificing quality. Below are 6 benefits of buying a used car (in like-new condition) over a brand new one.

1. Used Cars: Lower Price Tag, Less Depreciation

Remember the old adage that a new car loses thousands of dollars in value the moment you drive it off the lot? It’s still true, and it’s why used cars are better bargains. It’s also why you can buy a 2007 Porsche for the price of a 2011 Honda. Someone bought the Porsche for $50,000 and now it can be yours for $25,000.

Think about the average price of buying new. Figures from CNW Marketing Research show that the average price of a new car in 2008 was $25,536 before taxes and fees. That car could now be worth around $13,000. Would you rather  be the original buyer, who lost $12,000 or $13,000, or the second buyer who saves that much?

If you buy a car that’s one or two years old, it’ll still depreciate, but you’ll lose less money less quickly. And you’ll avoid that big initial hit that the previous owner took.

2. Sales Tax on New Cars

Every ad for a new car glosses over the tax issue. Many state laws subject new cars to state sales tax, but not used cars. In Georgia, for example, if you buy a used car from a private seller, you won’t owe any sales tax at all. Comparatively, the sales tax that dealers have to add to the price of a new car can be thousands of dollars. Don’t underestimate the savings, and research your state’s laws on the subject before you make a decision.

3. Falling Registration Fees

In most states, the rate of your annual registration fee is based on your car’s value and its model year. In Colorado, for example, registration fees fall dramatically during the first few years after a car is manufactured. The rate is highest in the first three years, and then levels off after five years. If your state has similar rules, you can save about a thousand dollars by avoiding the new car registration fees and buying a car that’s at least three, or better yet five, years old.

4. Useless Extras on New Cars, Cheaper Features on Used Cars

The oldest trick in the dealer’s book is to install additional dealer options. They’ll add a pinstripe, a protective film, or the immortal “anti-rust coating,” but new car buyers who want these add-ons can easily get them for a much lower cost from an after-market installer. Regardless, these changes don’t add a dime to the car’s resale value anyway. When you buy used, you may not get every feature you want, but you certainly won’t end up paying extra for things you didn’t ask for.

On the other hand, when you search for specific features that you do want in a used car, like a sunroof or navigation system, you’ll pay far less than the original owner did. Instead of needing to decline a dealer’s expensive navigation package with fees and surcharges, you’ll be able to afford the built-in features.

5. Dealers and Their Crazy Fees

As if paying $500 for rust-proofing isn’t bad enough, dealers hit new car buyers with shipping charges, destination fees, and “dealer preparation.” These fees feel even worse because unlike the unnecessary, unwanted pinstripe, owners have absolutely nothing to show for these charges except a lower bank account. When you buy a used car, you’ll have to visit the DMV to pay tag, title, and registration fees, but you won’t deal with any of the nonsense that dealers add.

Instead of caving to dealer fees and buying new, you take on a more powerful role when you’re in the market to buy a used car. You have a much better case for negotiating when you can tell a private seller you might just walk away from their old car. If they bought new, they’re not going to know everything you know about the benefits of buying used. They’ll be eager to keep you at the negotiating table.

6. Condition

Nowadays, cars are built to last for at least 100,000 miles, so you don’t have to sacrifice reliability and overall condition just to get a good deal on a used car. You can get a used (or “pre-owned”) car that’s scratch-free and in excellent mechanical shape. In fact, if you know anything about cars, you should be able to find one that is in “like new” condition.

However, if you’re not comfortable under the hood, you can rely on the certification programs and extended long-term car warranties that most car makers offer. When you buy a used car at a manufacturer’s dealership, you’ll know that they’ve inspected the vehicle and that it meets the strict requirements for certification. The biggest benefit you might find is the manufacturer’s warranty for used cars. Toyota, for example, offers a seven-year 100,000-mile warranty on certified used vehicles. This kind of peace of mind is crucial when buying a used car.

Final Word

New cars smell great, but how much is that scent really worth? By looking beyond the sale price and considering the total cost of buying new, you can get a better idea of how much you are really going to pay for the privilege of being the first owner of your next car. You might have to spend a little extra time on research, but from the initial price to the long-term costs, you’ll thank yourself for buying a slightly-used car that’s in good condition.

What are the pros and cons that you see to buying new or buying used? Share your success stories or nightmare deals in the comments below.

https://www.moneycrashers.com/benefits-of-buying-a-slightly-used-car/

 
·        Get a flexible payment structure to fit your business needs. If your business has a slow season, ask for seasonal payment plans. 
 
·        Consider a leasing program that provides for lease expiration at or near warranty expiration. 
 
·        With an operating lease, if you think you’ll keep the equipment after the lease term, ask for a cap on the purchase price, such as “fair market value (FMV) not to exceed 20% of the equipment’s cost.”
 
·        Use your existing equipment to generate cash. With a sale and leaseback, a leasing company buys your existing equipment and leases it back to you. You get the cash that is locked up in your equipment while still continuing to use it.
 
·        Refinancing your existing equipment with a capital or finance lease can lower payments by as much as 50%. 
 
·        Understand the fine print. Most leases contain a termination value schedule, detailing the amount that will need to be paid to terminate the lease.
 
·        Don’t be afraid to ask for references when shopping for an equipment leasing company.